Exhaust valve for diver&#39;s helmet



United States Patent [72] Inventor Richard P. Jones 2,985,169 5/1961 Elling 128/1464 Santa Barbara, Calif. 3,149,631 9/1964 Svenson l37/63R [2l 1 968 Primary ExaminerM. Cary Nelson gf 1970 Assistant Examiner-William H. Wright [73] Assignee Agonic Engineering, Inc. Ammey Ha1-ry Brelsford Santa Barbara, Calif. a col'loration of California ABSTRACT: A pressurized diver's helmet is provided with an exhaust valve that permits gas inside the helmet to be exhausted to the exterior of the helmet. The valve is both a i 54] EXHAUST VALVE FOR DIVERS HELMET manual valve, operated by the divers h ead strikinga valve 6 Claims 3 Drawing Figs operating button, and a two-stage automatic valve providing a normal differential between the internal gas pressure and the [52] U.S. Cl. 137/512, outside iiquid pressure and an extraordinary differential that 137/522 l37/614-19 permits extraordinary inflation of the divers suit for added [51] Int. Cl. Fl6k 17/06 buoyancy, as when lif i heavy objecrs The exhaust port to [50] Field olSearch 128/1464, the liquid environment iS ciosed by fl ibl diaphragms that 142-4; l37/63R 512, 516-25, ensure against inflow of liquid into the valve body. The 51627 614-19, 522 diaphragms are operable in any position with respect to gravity, ensuring the safety of the diver even when working upside [56] References Cited down. The use of diaphragms in the exhaust part of the ex- UNlTED STATES PATENTS haust valve makes possible a very compact valve which in turn 2,820,469 1/1958 Seeler 137/63R causes the divers helmet to have a smaller silhouette.

46 0 0 0 l 4 24 :2 as 55 2/ PATENTED m1 5 I970 INVI'IN'I'UR RIC HARD F JONES A TTOANE) EXHAUST VALVE FOR DIVERS HELMET DISCLOSURE This invention relates to gas exhaust valves for divers helmets and has particular reference to such a valve having an ex haust port controlled by diaphragms to positively exclude the back flow of water or other environmental fluid in which the diver is working.

It is a general object of the invention to provide an improved and compact helmet exhaust valve that prevents back flow of liquid into the valve on the divers helmet.

Various objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent in the following description and claims considered together with the drawings forming an integral part of this invention in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a divers helmet equipped with a valve embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view in full section of a presently preferred form of valve embodying the invention, also shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an exploded three-dimensional view of the valve housing and the exhaust port structure of the valve, but rotated about 150 from FIG. 2 for better illustration.

Referring to FIG. 1 there is illustrated a diving suit having a helmet 11 secured thereto by any suitable means such as a neck ring 12 having a latch 13 to secure the helmet to the suit with a watertight joint. Disposed on the helmet l1 and projecting to the exterior of it is a valve 14 embodying the invention. Air under pressure is supplied to the interior of the helmet 11 by any suitable means (not shown), and the valve 14 is used to exhaust internal air to the exterior environment in which the diver is working, usually water.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the valve 14 has a cylindrical housing 16 which has one end 17 projecting through an aperture in the divers helmet and therefore designated as the inner end. Formed on the exterior of the cylindrical housing 16 is an external flange 18 against which is abutted a gasket 19, and a compression ring nut 21 presses the helmet 11 against this gasket 19 to effect a watertight seal of the cylindrical body 16 to the helmet l1.

Formed on a portion of the cylindrical wall of the housing 16 is an exhaust port in the nature of a series of holes 22, together with a central aperture 23 which latter is used to retain a diaphragm valve. The holes 22 form a grating for the support of a flexible diaphragm valve 24 which overlies the grating openings 22 and the diaphragm is held in position by means of an integral button 26 which is stretched into the central aperture 23 and thereafter tensions backwardly to hold the button against the lower surface of the central aperture 23.

Referring now to the inner end 17 of the housing 16 a web 27 supports a central bushing 28 within which reciprocates a valve stem 29 having a head button 31 threaded to the end that projects towards the interior of the helmet and can therefore be referred to as the inner end of the valve stem. The other end of the stem 29 is secured to a valve poppet 32 which is annularly recessed to hold an O-ring 33, which seats on a valve seat 34 formed by a restriction within the cylindrical housing 16. The valve poppet 32 is normally urged towards the seated position illustrated in FIG. 2 by a compression spring 36. The poppet 32 may receive additional seating pressure from a follower disc 37 urged toward the poppet by a second compression spring 38. Both springs 36 and 38 are held within a hollow two-part stem 39 of a .wheel screw rotated by a hand wheel 41. The stem 39 threads into or out of an end plate 42 which closes off the left-hand end of the cylindrical housing 16 as viewed in FIG. 2.

The spring 36 is designed to ordinarily give a light pressure against the valve poppet 32 on the order of one-half of a pound per square inch of gas pressure in the helmet, and the hand wheel 41 is rotated to compress or relax the spring 36 rotating the two-part stem 39 farther to the right gives additional pressure on the poppet 32 on the order of an additional 2 pounds per square inch when the disc 37 contacts the poppet. This may be done when the diver desires to increase his internal pressure to blow up his suit to make himself more buoyant, as when lifting heavy objects. The total amount of this overload of pressure over the normal can be adjusted by means of an adjustment on the left end of the valve stem 29 as viewed in FIG. 2, wherein a screw 43 may be threaded inwardly and outwardly to vary the effective length of the valve stem 29. This screw may be locked in any selected position by abutting against a threaded sleeve 44 threaded on the exterior of the left end of the valve stem 29.

Referring now particularly to the exhaust port represented by the apertures 22, it is heretofore been thought necessary to maintain an air bubble or gas bubble of some considerable size in the exhaust port. This has led to elongated exhaust tubes or ports, and these have increased quite appreciably the bulk of the helmet. The present invention is based on the discovery that this air bubble is not necessary and great safety and security can be obtained in the exhaust porting by the use of a diaphragm valve, or preferably a series of diaphragm valves, controlling the exit of gas through the exhaust port. The purpose is to eliminate the back flow of water through the valve housing 16, inasmuch as this tricklesinto the interior of the helmet adding to the discomfort of the diver.

Referring now particularly to the exhaust valve structure, there has been described the first diaphragm 24. Surrounding this first diaphragm 24 is a cage 46, preferably cylindrical for ease in machining. The sidewalls of thiscage are, however, solid, and the cage openings may consist of a plurality of apertures 47 disposed above the first diaphragm 24. Covering these apertures may be a second diaphragm valve 48 which may be identical in construction to the first diaphragm 24. In this case the openings 47 for the cage surrounding the first diaphragm 24 also act as the grating for the second diaphragm 48. This second diaphragm 48 is preferably also surrounded by a cage to protect it from being damaged during work, and inasmuch as this is the last valve in the series, it may have side port openings 49 as well as top openings 51 which may be formed in a plate threaded into the outer end of the cage number 46. The second diaphragm 48 may have a button 26 identical to that of the first diaphragm by which it is held within a center aperture in the same fashion as the first diaphragm.

It will be apparent that if an excessive gas flow passes through the exhaust port openings 22, these will lift up the diaphragm 24 and may possibly cause'it to seat against the upper cage openings 47. To prevent this from happening and to maintain the flow to the second diaphragm under all quantitative flow conditions, there is provided a bumper 52 spaced between the diaphragm 24 and the apertures 47 by means of a number of struts 53. The bumper itself might be of any desired shape, for example a ring concentric with the circular diaphragm 24.

OPERATION The valve of the invention may be manually or automatically operated to adjust the pressure inside of the divers hel- I met 11, and inasmuch as there is free communication between the helmet and the divers suit 10, this also adjusts pressure within the suit. The suit is inflatable to increase its size and thereby change the buoyancy of the diver which becomes important for ascent or descent or for lifting heavy objects. The valve is normally closed, as shown in FIG. 2, by means of the compression spring 36 pressing against the poppet 32. This spring may cause a pressure inside of the helmet on the order of one-half of one pound per square inch in excess of the external environmental pressure which in the case of diving in water may exceed several hundred pounds per square inch.

If, for any reason the diver desires to reduce the pressure inside the helmet, he merely moves his head toward the valve 14 so that his head strikes the button 31 which causes the valve stem 29 to reciprocate to the left as viewed in FIG. 2. This in turn lifts the valve 32 off its seat 34, permitting the gas inside of the helmet to pass through the exhaust port holes 22. This gas, in turn, lifts the diaphragm 24, which is secured at its center by the resilient button 26, and the gas flows around the external edges of the diaphragm 24 upwardly, as viewed in FIG. 2, and through the second ports 47 and then lifting the second diaphragm 48, whereupon the gas escapes to the outer environment through the side holes 49 or the top holes 51.

It is, of course, conceivable that a state of pressure equilibrium would exist between the gas inside of the housing 16 and the external environment. Concelvably also one of the diaphragms 24 might be partly open by an air bubble during this state of equilibrium. Such a partial opening of the diaphragms 24 or 48 might allow waterto flow through the partially open diaphragm into the interior of the valve. While a state of equilibrium might cause one diaphragm valve 24 to be partly open to admit back flow of liquid through the valve, it is 'very unlikely that two diaphragm valves would be partly open because of the slight inherent resilience of the diaphragms urging them to a seated position. The use of two diaphragm valves in series, therefore, is positive assurance against any back flow, or properly speaking, a trickle of water through partially opened valves caused by astate of equilibrium.

The use of two diaphragm valves in series makes unnecessary the prior torturous goose necks and other elongated through the exhaust diaphragms and the final exit holes to environment may be of the order of the greatest transverse dimension of the entire exhaust valve 14. As clearly illustrated in FIG. 2, this vertical dimension through the exhaust diaphragm structure is less than the horizontal dimension in that FIG. This is greatly in contrast to prior structures using ,tremendously elongated exhaust port structure.

The elimination of the-need of an air'bubble in the exhaust port structure makes it possible to use the valve while the diver is in any position. For example, with the prior art structures a diver working head down was in danger of losing his air bubble and permitting the intrusion of outside liquid into the valve. This does not occur with the use of the diaphragm -.valves, and they can be operated in any position. It is presently preferred, for example, for convenience on the helmet to have the exhaust diaphragms 48 and 24 on the lower side of the housing 16, and they are illustrated in FIG. 2 on the upper side only for purposes of illustration.

Referring now again to the operation of the valve of FIG. 2, if it is desired to increase the differential between the inside of the helmet, the environmental hand wheel 41 is manually operated by the diver to thread the stem 39 inwardly, thereby compressing the spring 36 by means of the relatively stiff spring 38 and the follower 37. This increases the load on the gpoppet 32 so that any selected additional pressure may be obtained usually in the range up to 2 pounds per square inch.

While the valve has been described with reference to the presently preferred embodiment thereof it is not limited to the structure illustrated, but all variations and modifications are included within the scope 'of the following claims that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention:

lclaim:

1. An exhaust valve for use with a divers helmet to manually or automatically exhaust internal gas to the outside environment comprising:

a. a cylindrical valve housing having means to secure one end to a divers helmet to thereby communicate that inner end to the interior of the helmet and having an exterior portion with an exhaust portin the cylindrical wall;

b. a valve disposed within the housing;

c. means for opening the valve to permit gas inside the helmet to floww through the. valve housing to the exhaust port;

d. a grating formed over the exhaust port immediately adjacent to the cylindrical wall;

e. a diaphragm secured to the outside of the grating; f. a cage disposed over the diaphragm and communicating to the environment; and

g. a second diaphragm secured to the outside of the cage; said diaphragms acting to seal said exhaust port against the intrusion of fluid from the outside environment.

2. An exhaust valve as set forth in claim 1 wherein a bumper manually or automatically exhaust internal gas to the outside environment comprising:

a. a tubular valve housing adapted to be secured to a divers helmet and having'an inner end open to the interior of the helmet and having an exhaust port formed in an outer end of the housing;

b. a valve disposed within the housing normally biased to stop gas flow through the valve housing;

0. means for opening the valve to permit gas inside the helmet to flow through the valve housing to the exhaust port; and

d. a pair of diaphragm valves formed in series over the exhaust port and oriented to prevent flow from the outside environment to the interior of the valve housing.

5. An exhaust valve as set forth in claim 4 wherein a grating is formed in the exhaust port and one diaphragm is positioned on the outside of the grating to form the diaphragm valve.

6. An exhaust valve as set forth in claim 4 wherein a grating is provided upon which the second valve of the pair seats and a bumper projects between the grating and the first diaphragm of the pair to prevent exhaust flow from forcing the first diaphragm against the grating. 

